The leadership for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization's International will hold meeting this week in Hong Kong. This will mark the first meeting since the 2004 Forum for World Evangelism last year in Pattaya, Thailand when the leadership was transitioned. The Leadership Team meeting will be hosted by Dr. Leung Wing Tai, the chair for the Lausanne Communications Working Group and CEO of Breakthrough Ministries.

During the meeting, the leaders will be assessing issues released by 2004 Forum Lausanne Occasional Papers (LOPs) which gives analysis and Biblical reflections on 31 issues known as blockades toward world evangelism. The issues include globalization, HIV/AIDs pandemic, the persecuted church, ministry to the Unreached People Groups and the disabled, media and technology, and making the disciples of oral learners.

Lausanne International Director Dr. Tetsunao Yamamori said that it is crucial to address during the discussion the answer for how we can disseminate information about Lausanne and implement the action plans proposed by the LOPs. Rev. Greg Parsons from the U.S. Center for World Mission will present the overview of the LOPs to contextualize the document at the meeting this week.

Lausanne's Working Group will convene the regional consultations at this meeting. The Leadership Team will be making plans for the Third Lausanne World Congress on Evangelism that will be held in 2010.

The Lausanne Executive Chair Rev. S Douglas commented that the Leadership Team has been at its peak in 15 years. “A new generation of leaders brings with them a high level of energy and a fresh commitment to advance the ideals of ‘the whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.’”

The forty percent increase in the past two and a half years have brought encouragement to the future of Lausanna. “This younger generation of leaders fully embraces the history and the rich legacy of the Lausanne movement,” Birdsall said in the news release. “These men and woman are committed to providing leadership and service that will enable the movement to press forward in the 21st Century with fresh ideas and renewed devotion to the Lord and the spirit of Lausanne.” Said Birdsall.

On this week's meeting, Birdsall was looking forward for the meeting to offer “important team building by strengthening the sense of community among this uniquely equipped and globally distributed leadership team.” Lausanne leaders will also address in this week's meeting the importance of communications dimension of the movement.

The meeting will feature an overview of the renovated Lausanne website, presentation on the recently published Lausanne post-Forum magazine, screening of new Lausanne video, and preview on the new online publishing venture with the Institute of Strategic Evangelism headed by the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College